1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the packaging and wrapping industries, and particularly to an apparatus and method for packaging coiled materials, such as steel coils and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many materials, e.g., steel of various alloys and other metals, plastics, etc., are often processed into coils or rolls after manufacture in order to provide for compact storage and convenient dispensing for use. Such coils of sheet material nearly universally require some form of external protection from the time they are coiled to the time when the material is dispensed from the coil. In the case of metals this is done primarily to protect the material from corrosion using some form of external packaging, while also serving to protect the exterior layer of material from physical damage, at least to some extent.
Accordingly, various forms of packaging for coiled materials have been developed in the past. One general method uses a banding device that passes through the open core of the coil and surrounds the core radially. A relatively narrow strip of material is then unwound from the banding device for application in a generally radial pattern around the coil, as the coil is rotated relative to the banding device.
Another general method applies a sheet of flexible material over and around the coil, with a portion of the wrapping material being drawn back through the open core to complete the packaging process. This is a relatively slow and cumbersome process, primarily due to the need to manually push the wrapping or packaging material through the open core from one end of the coil, and then to draw the packaging material through the remainder of the open core from the opposite end of the coil.
Thus, an apparatus and method for packaging coiled materials solving the aforementioned problems is desired.